Transition towards a sustainable biobased economy
This book, by two leading experts in green chemistry and the green economy, Morone and Clark, analyses the sustainability impact of transitioning from fossil-based to biobased products, primarily (though not exclusively) from an environmental perspective.
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The opening sentence of the introduction to Transition Towards a Sustainable Biobased Economy states that “Europe is confronted by the depletion of natural resources due to, among other issues, their unsustainable use, increased global competitiveness, the global population growth rate, and other challenging environmental and economic issues”. This stark statement sets the precedent upon which the need for transitioning to a more sustainable production economy is further explored and is reinforced with the suggestion that biobased products offer an opportunity to utilise more renewable resources to meet industrial needs. The authors explore multiple renewable resources as well as a substantial number of potential applications for each in industry.
The book provides a “scientifically based harmonised approach for environmental, social and economic sustainability assessments”, highlighting that techno- economic uncertainty can be reduced by internal cost and benefit analysis, whilst environmental and social uncertainty are addressed through assessing external costs and benefits. With this information, tools can be defined for reducing market and policy uncertainty and encourage uptake of biobased products. It is not until reaching sections 1.3 and 1.4 that the book’s objectives are more clearly outlined, providing explanations for the jargon used in earlier sections. There is then a clear outline of each chapter set out and the uncertainty domains of analysis and impact for each. |
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Chapter 2 identifies the disproportion in available literature primarily in favour of biofuels, rather than other biobased products. It then goes on to analyse the comparative sustainability of various renewable resources as feedstocks up to their entry into the factory where they are processed to become raw materials for bioproduct manufacture. The chapter draws attention to the fact that environmental impact is not limited to greenhouse gas emissions and carbon footprint, meaning that further aspects must be considered when assessing sustainability. Chapter 3 assesses the environmental impact of the final product after the raw material has been processed for its application.
Chapter 4 challenges the concept that economic growth should not be dependent on the use of resources, nor resource use directly correlate to a negative environmental impact. It goes on to analyse the techno- economic efficiency of biobased products and the manufacture routes from raw materials to produce them. Chapter 5 then presents an analysis of the market dynamics to identify sustainability criteria which can be easily understood by all consumers looking to understand and improve their sustainability. Chapter 6 assesses the social life cycle of the products to determine the impacts on human health and provide indicators for use by policymakers seeking to transition towards a biobased economy.
Chapter 7 considers the interesting instances, where land use change may produce a negative result in order to meet the resource demand for biobased products as the economy expands. The environmental and social impacts of this are considered and compared. Finally, it provides a risk management method to mitigate the negative impacts of this growth.
This book provided a new and somewhat refreshing lens to review the sustainability of renewable resources and the methods through which they are utilised to manufacture alternative products to fossil fuels. Errors in grammar disrupt the flow and readability of the text, but the book is an interesting and insightful one, providing an excellent source of information to anyone looking to understand the impact of biobased products and how to move towards an economy reliant on them.
Chapter 4 challenges the concept that economic growth should not be dependent on the use of resources, nor resource use directly correlate to a negative environmental impact. It goes on to analyse the techno- economic efficiency of biobased products and the manufacture routes from raw materials to produce them. Chapter 5 then presents an analysis of the market dynamics to identify sustainability criteria which can be easily understood by all consumers looking to understand and improve their sustainability. Chapter 6 assesses the social life cycle of the products to determine the impacts on human health and provide indicators for use by policymakers seeking to transition towards a biobased economy.
Chapter 7 considers the interesting instances, where land use change may produce a negative result in order to meet the resource demand for biobased products as the economy expands. The environmental and social impacts of this are considered and compared. Finally, it provides a risk management method to mitigate the negative impacts of this growth.
This book provided a new and somewhat refreshing lens to review the sustainability of renewable resources and the methods through which they are utilised to manufacture alternative products to fossil fuels. Errors in grammar disrupt the flow and readability of the text, but the book is an interesting and insightful one, providing an excellent source of information to anyone looking to understand the impact of biobased products and how to move towards an economy reliant on them.
Reference
Transition Towards a Sustainable Biobased Economy, ed.P. Morone and J. H. Clark, Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge, 2020. ISBN 978-1-78801-591-2.
Transition Towards a Sustainable Biobased Economy, ed.P. Morone and J. H. Clark, Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge, 2020. ISBN 978-1-78801-591-2.
